The technical lesson alternated with references to the history of art which, as far as the combination of black-white-red is concerned, finds one of its greatest expressions in the Trois Crayon technique of the Flemish artist Sir. To the more or less dark gray of the pencil applied in a continuous “leave and up” and softened by the use of brushes, chamois, fingers and bread rubber – handled impeccably as if it were a pencil- Liberace adds the use of red chalk with which he hints at flash tone. It is interesting to see how the drawing evolves through the punctuation of the proportions of the muscles and bones and it is in the definition of the hair, which master Liberace prefers to hint at in a natural and spontaneous way in order to leave the drawing apparently raw: “as Leonardo Da Vinci used to do in his subjects”, says the artist. He expresses himself with grace, explaining as he goes along the steps taken and the anatomical parts highlighted. Gradually, using a soft pencil charcoal, Liberace continued toward the completion of the model’s characteristic anatomical structure, the definition of the terminator line, and the contour, about which the master states: “The contour is a very powerful element”.Īnd it is precisely in the vibration of the contour line, a sort of continuous searching line, with which he highlights the anatomical structure, that all the magic, naturalness and sensitivity of Robert Liberace emerges. The lesson began with the use of a vine charcoal to block out shapes and highlight their chiaroscuro, as Bargue teaches.
A method that Liberace manages to impart with extreme spontaneity. The method is now back in vogue thanks to the book “Drawing Course” -from the original “Course de Dessin”- reworked thanks mainly to the efforts of G.Ackerman, Graydon Parrish and Daniel Graves who edited the book with a written part – the original book produced by the authors was devoid of captions and texts – and in which are contained 197 masterful lithographs of subjects to copy for those who want to learn the art of drawing before experimenting from life or nature. Liberace started, in his process, using the Bargue method: a clear and precise method developed by Charles Bargue and Jean-Léon Gérôme about two hundred years ago and based on the study of casts of classical Greco-Roman works, master drawings and drawings of male. Portraying the image of his daughter Ava from a photograph, Master Liberace highlighted, live in front of dozens of people, the importance of the hand-eye connection that proceeds naturally and as such does not allow itself to be overwhelmed by the mind in the elaboration of the artistic process. What better artist than Robert Liberace could introduce a delicate and sometimes underestimated topic like this? The day was entirely dedicated to the theme: “The Eye and Hand Connection”. Alan regularly attends the conferences of the Portrait Society of America and the Figurative Art Convention and Exhibition.First day of pre-convention workshops for “The Art of The Portrait,” the Portrait Society of America’s annual convention, now in its 23rd year. He's also studied advanced techniques in colour mixing under American master Graydon Parrish, classical portraiture with Teresa Oaxaca, red chalk figure drawing with Robert Liberace, and imaginative landscapes with Donald Jurney. In recent years, he's taken workshops with acclaimed Canadian artists Robert Bateman, Barry McCarthy, Juan Martinez, Matthew Mancini, Ryan Gauvin, and Roumen Kirinkov. Alan studied traditional drawing and painting at Toronto’s Academy of Realist Art, graduating in 2013.
#Robert liberace red chalk professional
Alan counts the Dutch Old Masters among his major influences, as well as Sargent, Sorolla and Zorn.īorn in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada in 1965, he enjoyed careers as an academic in international relations and as an entrepreneur in corporate training before following his dream to be a professional artist.
He describes his style as classical realism, a form of representational art that exhibits a preference for order, beauty, harmony and completeness, and the representation of nature based on direct observation using traditional methods. His paintings tend to depict quiet, private places with an air of mystery and intrigue. Alan Douglas Ray is an academy-trained, traditional oil painter with a passion for portraiture, figures, still life, and landscapes.